The People's Pharmacy: Home remedies can offer relief from hiccups

I have had hiccups almost constantly for six months. I went to a gastroenterologist about this problem, and he prescribed omeprazole. It isn't helping, however. Do you have any other suggestions?

Persistent hiccups certainly can be a problem. We trust the doctor ruled out any serious condition underlying your hiccups. We could find no well-controlled studies demonstrating that omeprazole (Prilosec) or any other acid-suppressing drug would work for chronic hiccups.

Long-lasting hiccups are thought to be the result of nerve irritation. Although home remedies are not well-studied either, some may work through counterirritation of the vagus nerve. Here are some suggestions from readers:

"Bite into a lime or lemon wedge. This is an old bar secret."

Another bartender's secret is "A spoonful of Angostura bitters all at once."

A reader who also had a long-lasting problem shared this: "I had a bout of the hiccups for a couple of weeks straight. It was a nightmare! I ended up going to a doctor who put a tube down my nose to let out trapped air in my stomach. Besides that, swallowing a teaspoon of sugar helps and so does this: Have somebody cover your ears while you drink a glass of water." This last technique works best if the person presses on the little flap at the front of the ear called the tragus.

Other readers have found benefit from a sip of pickle juice, an olive or a bit of vinegar.

My wife has suffered from constipation for years. She usually has just one or two small bowel movements a week, with difficulty. She has tried prescription and over-the-counter medicines, including fiber and docusate, to no avail. A recent colonoscopy was all clear.

We have read that natural colon cleansers are supposed to loosen and remove deeply impacted toxic buildup in the colon without side effects. My wife has high blood pressure, congestive heart failure and hypothyroidism. I wonder if such products would be safe in conjunction with her medications.

We are not enthusiastic about colon cleansing except prior to colonoscopy or bowel surgery. We worry about herbal colon cleansers because when they work, the resulting diarrhea can upset the balance of minerals in the body. This could be quite hazardous for a person with congestive heart failure.

Instead, we suggest she try sugarless gum and possibly add a few doses of Power Pudding, a mixture of bran, prune juice and applesauce. The guides we are sending you (for digestive disorders and constipation) have our 10 tips to combat constipation and a recipe for Power Pudding. Anyone who would like copies, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (64 cents), self-addressed envelope to Graedons' People's Pharmacy, No. GG-33, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.

I've had arthritis for years. I followed advice in your column and am totally amazed to find that eating cherries daily made my shoulder pain stop. I drink cherry juice when cherries are out of season.

After adding apple-cider vinegar to my regimen, my hands no longer hurt. When I didn't consume these things during a trip, the pain returned. It's been months now, and the remedies still are working.

We're glad you found options that help. There are more details on these and other arthritis remedies at peoplespharmacy.com.

My sister is drinking mouthwash on a daily basis. What internal damage would be done from drinking 20 or 30 ounces of mouthwash every day for a year?

She had her gallbladder removed two months ago, but she hasn't stopped drinking mouthwash. I am quite worried about her.

Mouthwash can contain quite a lot of alcohol, 25 percent or more. Consuming 6 or 8 ounces of ethanol a day is bad enough, but also imbibing the other "phenolic compounds" such as eucalyptol, thymol, methyl salicylate and menthol in various types of mouthwash also may be dangerous.

Other readers have reported similar problems: "My girlfriend is a hopeless alcoholic. She lied about drinking, and I found her passed out with an empty bottle of mouthwash in her hand. As I looked around the house, I found many empty bottles of generic mouthwash. I don't know what to do."

We have heard from people whose loved ones have died as a result of abusing alcohol-containing mouthwash. Fighting alcoholism is a difficult task, and you will need a lot of help if your sister is willing to try. Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon can be helpful. A prescription for naltrexone (ReVia) or acamprosate (Campral) along with behavior modification also might make a difference.

• Write to the Graedons at their website, www.peoplespharmacy.com. Their newest book is "Recipes & Remedies From The People's Pharmacy."